Team
ADITYATHE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGALORE, Karnataka, India
JANHAVITHE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGALORE, Karnataka, India
SIREESHTHE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGALORE, Karnataka, India
ADITYAPrinceton High School, NJ, United States
Age Range
19 & under
Coaches
Graciela EliaPrinceton High School, NJ, United States
Bina Daisy DeivamTHE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGALORE, Karnataka, India
Category
Science & Technology > Earth Science
Social Sciences & Culture
Audience
Ages 9 and up
Language
English, Spanish
Site Features
Online Activity / Game
Reading Guide / Book Guide
Quiz
Teacher Resources (Lesson Plans, Worksheets)
Photo Gallery
Video / Sound
Team Collaboration
ProjectGreen is a team of 4 students: Aditya, Sireesh and Janhavi based in India, and Aditya residing in the USA. In Bangalore, Sireesh and Janhavi are boarders at their school, with limitations to the use of internet and the added pressures of life in a dorm. Furthermore, meeting during the break was possible only for Aditya and Sireesh as Janhavi lives in Kuwait. The students thus had very little time to work together and most of the meetings had to be squeezed within the 30 minute lunch breaks at school. The rest of the communication was done via email or online conferences, with the aid of Windows Live Messenger and Microsoft Office Groove, which was used as a workspace to fix meetings, upload files and engage in discussions.
Luckily, the strengths of each member lay in different areas. This allowed easy delegation of tasks which, when completed, could simply be pieced together, like a jigsaw puzzle. Aditya (Bangalore) was in charge of the technical aspects of the website, by designing the Flash and HTML versions of the website. Sireesh, despite being a beginner in Flash, raced ahead and within no time, was able to assist Aditya in the development of the website by contributing animations to some of the topic areas, as well as games, quizzes and crosswords. The actual content of the website was, however, supported by every team member, and each was able to participate significantly in research for the website, and the content, as they all share interest in a common topic. However, Janhavi and Aditya (US) emerged as the most active researchers of the team, with their immense additions in the form of both facts and opinions.
The layout of the website was perhaps the earliest development– the team decided to complete a layout that every member was fine with, and then proceed with research. Before the actual research began, it was also decided to finish programming the Help Assistant, Accessibility Options. Finally, the HTML version, PDF downloads and language translations of ProjectGreen were strategically left for the very end, when all the written content and Flash site was complete.
Tensions soared high as the website inched closer to completion. 3 of the members were in the 10th grade where the pressure to perform well academically on the upcoming board examinations was on the rise. Time management was vital to the completion of this website. ProjectGreen has been crafted through the spirited perseverance of its members, their joint passion for the restoration of the environment that surrounds us and their “never say die” attitude to life.
Team Diversity
The diversity of the ProjectGreen team has positively influenced the overall composition of the site; team members were able to focus on topics that concern them, such that the research was more dedicated, and there was a more personal touch to the writing. Furthermore, the website was able to benefit from primary sources from different ends of the world - in the form of surveys and 2 interviews – this enhanced the global relevance of the opinions expressed.
Aditya has been a local resident of Bangalore as a teenager, besides having spent his early years in the UK, Singapore and New Delhi. Bangalore was once known to be the “air-conditioned” city of India, but as time progressed, he realized the initial effects of climate change as winters became noticeably shorter, and summers transformed from mild to almost cruel. He also regularly visits the numerous national parks and wildlife sanctuaries nearby, and is thus a strong crusader for the conservation of endangered species.
Sireesh has had the opportunity to live in the US for a major part of his life. The transition from a developed country with a relatively sustainable balance between human development and the natural environment to a developing one has been a major eye opener for him, having made him more aware of the harmful effects of pollution and a growing population.
Janhavi has spent over a decade in the Middle East in the country of Oman, known to the world as a desert. She has witnessed the change in average temperatures of the region as the government increased investment in fertilizers and the planting of trees. The winters have become cooler and wetter as the country transitioned from a desert to a greener place. This experience has made her a passionate individual who is against the felling of trees and believes in the restorative powers of forestation.
Aditya (USA) has had the advantage of straddling between India and the US, having relocated multiple times. He was born and brought up in America, but moved to India as a teenager, experienced a wider exposure to environmental issues like pollution and overcrowding, and realized that the awareness level was negligible, unlike the US. This contrast has caused him to become a more conscious individual and contribute whole-heartedly to the project.
We have tried to reach out to people not only through facts and data, but at a more personal level through our experiences. This has instilled within us the determination to spread awareness and take restorative action, collectively working towards a greener, cleaner future.
